MaximumPC 2004 03

THIS MONTH: The WatchDog goes after...

WatchDog

Copyleft.net Exits Stage Left?

DEAR DOG: I ordered a great shirt from the

web site http://www.copyleft.net in early December.

My debit card was charged, the money

removed from my checking account, and

a confirmation e-mail was sent. No shirt

ever arrived. Follow-up e-mails go ignored,

and the one other e-mail address the site

offers is invalid.

Is the site defunct? What’s going on? The

DeCSS shirts were very cool and I know of

several people who purchased them months

ago with no problems.

—C. HOLZMAN

THE DOG

RESPONDS:

There’s bad news in

geekville. Copyleft.net, which sold T-shirts

and merchandise promoting all things geeky, may be

a goner. Among the goods Copyleft sold were shirts

bearing the source code to DeCSS, which

can be used to remove encryption from

DVD movies. (The shirts were seen as a

way to protest a perceived violation of

First Amendment rights.) Under the draco-

nian DMCA law, reproduction of the code

or linkage to a web site publicizing it was

ruled illegal by the courts.

Holzman isn’t the only person to complain about

Copyleft.net. A perusal of the site’s forums shows that

other consumers have had similar problems. “I ordered

one of these shirts in July and have received noth-

ing. Not only that, but this jerk still has my credit card

number and all my personal information,” one alleged

customer wrote. Another wrote, “Has anyone actually

received one of these shirts yet?! I’m so horribly angry

right now that I’m ready to go to the Better Business

Bureau for some serious ass-whippage.”

Others on the web site report that they did

receive the shirts, albeit well before the holiday

season, which is when the web site stopped

responding to customers. E-mail and phone calls

from the Dog to Copyleft.net went unanswered.

What happened to Copyleft? Perhaps jack-

booted agents of the DMCA finally caught

up with the site’s owner. Regardless, given

Copyleft.net’s poor response to its customers,

the Dog recommends that readers avoid the

site like a mad cow. Woof.

Codeunderground Goes

Underground

DEAR DOG: In your December Gift Guide,

you recommended an Xbox-to-PC

adapter, which I thought was a great

idea. But I have to wonder if you

guys even tested it. Why? There is no

web site named Codeunderground.com.

None. zero. Second, the controller adapter

sucks big time. It doesn’t work at all. It took

21 days to be delivered, and it didn’t come

with a driver. It’s like buying a car without

an engine. When I did find the driver for

the adapter, WinXP detected it fine but the

triggers didn’t work. I did some research and

found that I’m not the only one who has this

problem. I just wish I did the research before I

bought it. The only reason I didn’t was because

you guys recommended it in your mag. Right

now, I’m trying to get my money back. I just

want you to let others know not to buy this

adapter. It’s junk.

— JIM

THE DOG RESPONDS: At the time of our gift guide,

CodeUnderground.com did exist, but it appears that

since we published our story in December, the site has

gone away for good.

In March 2003, CodeUnderground admitted it had

been undergoing difficulties on its web site: “Since

March 7, we have had about 10 support requests to

every one cable order. Some of these requests have

been from users claiming to have bought a cable—

but they did not buy one from us.”

CodeUnderground went on to say that the extra

support costs seemed to be from another company

that was selling a knock-off cable without the driver.

According to the CodeUnderground site, that com-

pany simply linked to CodeUnderground.com and

shunted all its support there.

“We are currently in the process of deciding

how best to continue, but for now, the driver and user

support will remain free. We will also

continue to sell cable adapters. Please

be considerate when requesting sup-

port. Rude, demanding, or insulting

requests will not receive a response.

Those of you who have purchased

cables will continue to be supported

regardless of what we decide. You can

also expect to receive discounts on future products or

services. We thank you for your support.”

Apparently the cost of trying to support its own

customers and those of the other company finally

took CodeUnderground offline. The Dog was unable

to reach any of CodeUnderground’s principals as of

press time. It goes without saying, the Dog recom-

mends that consumers avoid the company’s products.

24 MAXIMUMPC MARCH 2004

Say hello to Arnold,

WatchDog of the Month.

Dog

Say hello to

WatchDog of the Month.

Maximum PC takes a bite out of bad gear

Copyleft.net >CodeUnderground >Scummy Scammers

”

“

If you could

actually read

the code

printed on

this T-shirt, jack-

booted thugs for

the DMCA police

might kick down

your door.

right now that I’m ready to go to the Better Business

Others on the web site report that they did

receive the shirts, albeit well before the holiday

season, which is when the web site stopped

responding to customers. E-mail and phone calls

from the Dog to Copyleft.net went unanswered.

What happened to Copyleft? Perhaps jack-

booted agents of the DMCA finally caught

up with the site’s owner. Regardless, given

Copyleft.net’s poor response to its customers,

the Dog recommends that readers avoid the

Codeunderground Goes

The Xbox controller-to-PC adapter from

CodeUnderground.com is no more.

I'M SO HORRIBLY ANGRY RIGHT NOW

THAT I'M READY TO GO TO THE BETTER

BUSINESS BUREAU FOR SOME SERIOUS

ASS-WHIPPAGE.